We’ve heard of Google Street View drivers getting into trouble with the local authorities in the past, but one driver recently got into a little bit more trouble than simply being pulled over by the police in Japan. Instead, the driver was detained by a mob of Thai villagers as the locals believed the vehicle was doing some secret reconnaissance of the area.
The incident took place in the village of Sa-eab where villagers performed a citizens’ arrest of sorts on the driver, forcing him to swear on a statue of Buddha that he wasn’t performing some spy-like shenanigans. The incident occurred as the driver was making his way through the village, when 20 residents surrounded the Google Street View vehicle and forced the driver to get out. They detained him at a local temple, but eventually released him and apologized to both him and Google.
“(We) apologize to the official, to Google, as well as to the Thai people through the nation and to the citizens of the worlds,” said an official apology sent from village officials. Google ultimately brushed the incident off as they say they sometimes run into some challenges when their Google Street View vehicles are out and about.
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